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Albus Dumbledore
Albus Dumbledore (1881-1997) was Headmaster of Hogwarts, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. He was also a recipient of the Order of Merlin, First Class, and held the title of Grand Sorcerer. He is particularly noted for his 1945 defeat of the Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald, and his steadfast championing of Harry Potter during the Second Wizarding War. As leader of the Order of the Phoenix, Albus played a key role in both Wizarding Wars, engineering Voldemort's eventual defeat. He is also famous for his discovery of the twelve uses of dragon blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest wizards of the modern era. Biography Childhood Albus was born in 1881 to Percival and Kendra Dumbledore. He grew up with his two younger siblings, Aberforth and Ariana. Ariana became unstable after she was attacked by three Muggle boys who had seen her doing magic, and from then on was unable to control her power.Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Chapter 28 (The Missing Mirror) Percival attacked the boys in retaliation, and was arrested and sent to Azkaban, where he died. Following this, the family moved to Godric's Hollow.Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Chapter 8 (The Wedding) They told everyone that Ariana was ill, and hid her from sight, in fear that she would be taken away to St Mungo's. About a year later, Albus received his Hogwarts letter, and prepared to leave for school.Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Chapter 2 (In Memoriam) Years at Hogwarts Albus came to Hogwarts under the shadow of his father's arrest, and refused to speak of the circumstances surrounding it. However, he quickly came to be known as one of the most brilliant students Hogwarts had ever seen. He frequently helped his friends with schoolwork, immediately realising his passion for teaching. He won every significant prize the school offered, and entered into correspondence with notable magical scholars, such as Nicholas Flamel, Bathilda Bagshot and Adalbert Waffling. His work was published in periodicals such as Transfiguration Today, Challenges in Charming, and The Practical Potioneer. His future seemed assured, and everyone expected he would one day become Minister for Magic. He left school Head Boy, Prefect, Winner of the Barnabus Finkley Prize for Exceptional Spell-Casting, British Youth Representative to the Wizengamot, and Gold Medal-Winner for Ground-Breaking Contribution to the International Alchemical Conference in Cairo.Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Chapter 18 (The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore) Association with Grindelwald Upon leaving Hogwarts, he prepared to take a Grand Tour of the world with his school-friend Elphias Doge, as was then traditional. However, the night before they were due to depart, word arrived that his mother had died. Ariana had accidentally killed her in a fit, and so Albus, with much resentment and bitterness,Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Chapter 35 (King's Cross) returned home to take care of his brother and sister. Elphias went on the trip alone. A few weeks later, Gellert Grindelwald arrived in Godric's Hollow, following his expulsion from Durmstrang, to stay with his great-aunt, Bathilda Bagshot. He was every bit as brilliant as Albus, and they quickly became friends. They shared similar ideas about wizard dominance over Muggles, and creating a new world order, which Albus justified as being 'for the Muggles' own good.' They also shared an obsession with finding the legendary Deathly Hallows, which would give them the power to achieve this goal. Throughout these discussions, Albus remained wilfully blind to Grindelwald's darker impulses. Meanwhile, Aberforth became dissatisfied with his neglect of Ariana. After two months of this, he finally confronted Albus and Grindelwald, and Grindelwald grew angry. Their argument escalated into a duel, and Ariana, who was agitated by all the flashing lights and wanted to help, got caught in the crossfire. Ariana was killed, and it was unclear who had cast the offending curse. It was a wake-up call for Albus, and he ended his friendship with Grindelwald, who left the country. He never saw him again until their legendary duel in 1945. Aberforth, who blamed Albus for her death, punched him very publicly at the funeral, breaking his nose. The two brothers were estranged after that, and did not reconcile until years later, although their relationship was never close. Academic career Albus joined Hogwarts as a Transfiguration teacher. Amongst his pupils was Newt Scamander, whose expulsion he strongly protested. First Wizarding War Description here. Second Wizarding War Description here. Death Description here. Appearance Dumbledore was tall and thin, with silver hair and a beard, both of which were long enough to tuck into his belt. He had blue eyes, which were hidden behind half-moon spectacles and often sparkled. His nose was 'long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice' (it had, by his brother). He also apparently had a scar above his left knee which greatly resembled a map of the London Underground. He usually wore colourful robes, appearing to prefer shades of purple. Personality Description here. Skills and abilities Description here. Notable possessions *Deluminator *A golden pocket watch with twelve hands but no numbers. Little planets move around the edge. *Pensieve Etymology 'Albus' means white in Latin, and refers to the alchemical colour. It is symbolic of Dumbledore's role as 'the spiritual theoretician, brilliant, idealised and somewhat detached.' This is in opposition to Hagrid's first name, which means red, and has opposing but complementary connotations.Pottermore - Colours 'Albus' also means wisdom.J.K. Rowling at the Royal Albert Hall, 26 June 2003 - via Accio Quote 'Dumbledore' means bumblebee in Old English, and is representative of Dumbledore's fondness for music, as he hums to himself a lot.J.K. Rowling on WBUR Radio, 12 October 1999 - via Accio Quote Trivia *Dumbledore's favourite hobbies are ten pin bowling and chamber music.Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - Chapter 6 (The Journey From Platform Nine and Three-Quarters) *His favourite flavour of jam is raspberry.Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Chapter 4 (Horace Slughorn) *He names the passwords to his office after sweets he likes. Appearances * * * * * * * * * * * * See also *Albus Dumbledore/Quotes *Dumbledore family References External links * Category:1880s births Category:1997 deaths Category:19th century wizards Category:20th century wizards Category:British people Category:Dumbledore family Category:Famous Wizards Category:Gryffindor students Category:Half-bloods Category:Hogwarts headteachers Category:Hogwarts staff Category:Legilimens Category:Occlumens Category:Order of Merlin Category:Order of the Phoenix Category:Prefects Category:Wizards of the Month